Combination toy farm building and material handling device



D- COHN 3,071,890 COMBINATION TOY BUILDING AND MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICEJan. 8, 1963 Filed Aug. 24, 1961 INV EN TOR. Da u-Ld j Cob/7 gmzufl ,4.Aim/z AT TQKNE Y United States Patent ()fifice 3,071,890- Patented Jan.8, 1963 3,071,890 COMBINATION TOY FARM BUILDING AND MATERIAL HANDLINGDEVICE David Cohn, 123 Coleridge St., Brooklyn, N.Y. Filed Aug. 24,1961, Ser. No. 133,688 Claims. (CI. 46-40) This invention relates to toysets, and more particularly to mechanized farm buildings of toy farmsets.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedcombination with a toy farm building of a lift and carrier device whichcombines simplicity and automation to effect a realistic loading andunloading of a farm or like building.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved toy farmbuilding and material handling combination as above set forth, whereinthere is combined a plurality of movements such as lifting, carrying,lowering, etc. in one continuous operation to effect storage of objectsin, or removal of objects from, the farm or building.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel combination of afarm building and material handling device in accordance with theforegoing, wherein there are involved relatively few components andwherein the said components may be economically fabricated of plasticmoldings to the greatest possible extent.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of an improvedcombination toy building and material handling device as characterized,wherein the smallest number of moving parts are involved, making forreliable and trouble-free operation with a minimum of servicing orrepair.

Other features'and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings accompanying this specification similar characters ofreference are used to designate like components or portions throughoutthe several views, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a farm building or barn, andmaterial handling device incorporated therein as provided by theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1and showing a fragmentary top plan view of the main beam or supportassembly of the material handling device.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary detail in side elevation, showing an automaticcatch device provided in the material handling means.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 55ofFIG. 1. v

the opening 30 of the end wall 16 of the barn and projects from the endof the building, as shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the beam 34 may be advantageously constructed so asto have an H-section whereby FIG. 6 is a detail showing in sideelevation a carriage component of the material handling device.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on the line 7-7of FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 and 2, the farm building shown therein is inthe form of a barn 10 having a base or floor portion 12, rear wall 14,end walls 16 and 18 and a roof structure 20.

The building further has a ceiling or loft floor 22.

The rear wall 14 is shown as having a rectangular opening or passageway26, and the loft floor 22 has a loading opening 28. Also, the end wall16 has a loading openng 30.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a novelcombination comprising the farm building or barn 10 as above set forthand a unique material handling device constituted as a combined lift andcarrier. The material handling device includes an elongate supportingbeam 34 which is mounted horizontally in the building 10 above the floorlevel and also spaced above the loft floor 22. The supporting beam 34passes through it may be readily molded of plastic substance and willhave appreciable rigidity and strength as well as constituting a basisfor a track which extends for a substantial distance along the beam. Asshown in FIG. 3, the beam 34 may have parallel side portions 36 and 38connected along their centers by a web portion 40, the latter beingprovided with an elongate centrally disposed slot 42 whereby itconstitutes a track or guide for a carriage 44. As seen in FIGS. 3 and6, the carriage 44 comprises a U-shaped member or body 46 havingdepending ends 48 and 50, and further comprises a rivet 0r eyelet 52extend ing upwardly of the body 46 through slot 42. It is secured inthis position by a washer or apertured plate 54, the latter beingdisposed at the top surface of the web portion 40 whereas the U-shapedbody 46 is located below said Web portion.

The carriage 44 is arranged so as to be freely slidable along the track49, between the side members 36 and 38.

In accordance with the invention, the carriage 44 is spring charged orbiased so that it normally occupies the position shown in FIG. 1,adjacent the exposed or outer end of the beam 54. The spring biasingmeans comprises an elastic band 58 which has one end secured to thedepending portion or flange 48 of the carriage, said band passing over apulley 60 mounted on the exposed beam end. The elastic band 58 extendsalong the beam 34 between the two sides 36, 38 thereof and is secured tothe opposite or remaining end of the beam by a suitable fastener 62.

Referring to FIG. 2, the beam 34 is provided with mounting cars 64 bymeans of which it is secured to the opposite end walls 16 and 18 of thebarn structure.

For the purpose of lifting and carrying articles, such as toy bales ofhay, etc. whereby these may be deposited in the barn 10 or else removedtherefrom, there is provided a pull cord or element 66 which extendsalong the under portion of the beam 34, said pull cord extending pastand around a bearing fitting or portion 70 provided in the beam as seenin FIGS. 5 and 7. The bearing portion 70 is rounded and smooth wherebythe pull cord 66 may slide over the same readily While having itsdirection changed.

In FIG. 1 it is seen that the pull cord 66 extends downward from theinnermost end of the beam 34, said cord being wrapped around a Windlass72 provided with a manually operable handle 74 whereby pulling force maybe readily exerted on the cord for lifting and carrying articles, aswill be shortly described. The loft floor 22 is provided with a throughopening and eyelet 73, by which the pull cord 66 is enabled to passthrough the floor and downward to the Windlass 72.

The Windlass 72 may be of any suitable type, having a drum 76 and sideflanges 78, and being mounted by means of bearing stanchions St on theend wall 18 of the building structure.

The pull cord 66 passes through an opening in the depending portion orflange 50 of the carriage 44 as seen in FIGS. 1, 4 and 6, and extendsdownward with its lower end secured to the article to be transported,herein indicated as a toy bale of hay 8-2.

The carriage body 46 is preferably molded of plastic substance, and thedepending flange 50 is provided with a smooth and rounded surface wherethe pull cord 66 passes over or around it, whereby a slide bearing ishad for the pull cord, with a relatively small amount of friction.

Further, in accordance with the invention, in conjunction with the aboveorganization there is provided a novel locking device in the form of anautomatically operative pivoted catch member 84 (FIGS. 1 and 4) suchcatch comprising a hooked detent arm 86 adapted to engage and hook overand around the depending flange portion 48 of the carriage 44 as seen inFIGS. 1 and 4. The detent arm 86 has a sloping camming surface 88 bywhich the catch is automatically operative to lock the carriage in agiven position centrally disposed in the building when such carriage isshifted from the outermost position of FIG. 1 to said position.

FIGURE 1 shows carriage 44 in its normal position near the outer end or"the beam 34. The toy bale 82 is shown in full lines in its normalpositions. Subsequent positions of the bale 82 and pull line 66 areshown in broken lines.

The automatic catch 84- has a manually operable and engageable arm 90,by which it may be manually actuated when desired.

The operation and functioning of the novel combination buildingstructure and material handling means as above described, will now beexplained.

Considering the starting position of the components as shown in fulllines in FIG. 1, the bale of hay 82 is shown as resting on the groundsurface Q2. The carriage 44 is at the outermost extremity of the beam34, and the elastic band 58 is but lightly stretched or tensioned. Theoperator now merely grasps the handle 74 of the Windlass and turns thesame so as to exert a pulling force on the cord 66. As the cord 66 ispulled, the bale 82 will be lifted vertically, and will occupy theraised broken line position indicated in FIG. 1, located directly belowthe outermost end of the beam 34.

Upon the bale reaching such raised or elevated position and becomingengaged with the under portions of the carriage 44, no further movementof the pull cord 66 with respect to the carriage 44 is possible. Inconsequence, the pulling movement of the cord 66 as occasioned bycontinued turning of the Windlass 72 and handle 74 will cause aleft-to-right travel of the carriage 44 and a stretching of the elasticband 58. Such travel of the carriage 44 will bring the lifted bale 82 inthrough the opening 30 of the end wall 16 of the barn, and thishorizontal movement will continue until the depending ends 50 and 48 ofthe carriage 44 successively strike the cam surface 88 of catch 84 so asto deflect the hooked end downwardly to permit passage of the carriage.After such passage the latch 84- returns to its normal position bygravity. In this position return movement of carriage 44 is prevented bythe hooked end of the latch 84.

If now the pull cord 66 is slacked, as by a reverse turning of theWindlass 72, the bale 82 will be lowered and finally reach the positionshown in dotted outline in FIG. 1, resting on the floor member 12 of thebuilding. If the operator desires instead to store the bale 8 2 in theloft, he may continue turning the Windlass 72 after the catch 84 hasbeen bypassed, whereupon the carriage 44 and bale will continuetraveling from left-to-right toward the rightmost end of the beam 34.When the rightmost end of the slot 42 is reached, the carriage 44 willfinally be halted. At this point, the depositing of the bale 82 on theloft floor 22 will necessitate the operator reaching into the barn andholding the carriage 44 against retrograde or right-to-left movement,since the spring tensioning means 58 will be stressed to the maximumextent.

At such time that the carriage 44 and the bale of hay 82 are to bereturned to the starting position shown in FIG. 1, the operator willreach into the building 16 and manually release the catch 84 byelevating the arm 90 thereof. This depresses the hooked end of the catchto permit the return passage of the carriage, as will be understood.

After the carriage 44 has traveled from right-to-left and regains theoutermost raised position as the pull cord 66 is slacked, furtherslacking movement of the pull cord will enable the bale S2 to be loweredto the starting position shown in FIG. 1.

It will now be understood from the foregoing that I have provided anovel and improved, unique combination of farm building structure andmaterial handling device which, in a unique manner combines simplicityand automation to effect a realistic loading and unloading of thebuilding. The material handling mechanism involves a plurality ofmovements such as lifting, carrying and lowering, in connection with onecontinuous pullcord operation to effect the desired transporting andstorage of the object, such as the toy bale of hay. Relatively fewcomponents are involved, and these may be economically fabricated ofplastic moldings whereby they resist rust and deterioration, and wherebythe operation of the device is reliable and free from malfunctioning.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claims,and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In combination, a toy farm building including a floor, a roof andopposite walls; a mechanized combined lift and carrier connected withsaid building, comprising a substantially horizontal supporting beamcarried by said building between said roof and floor, a first of saidwalls being formed with an opening therethrough, said beam having afront end projecting through said opening outwardly of said building;said beam being formed with a track, a carriage movable along saidtrack; spring means operatively associated with said beam and carriagefor yieldably retaining said carriage outwardly of said building in theregion of said front end of said beam, said spring means permittingrearward movement of said carriage along said beam into said buildingagainst the action of said spring means throughout substantially theentire length of said beam, said beam having a rear end secured to theother wall of said building; a pull element extending along said beam tosaid carriage from the region of said rear end of said beam, means onsaid carriage slidably engaging said pull element and directing the samedownwardly, said pull element having a lower end adapted to beoperatively connected to a load, said pull element having an oppositeend disposed in the region of said floor and said other wall, means forretracting said pull element, said opposite end of said pull elementbeing operatively connected to said last named means for being retractedthereby whereby said load is first hoisted into engagement with saidcarriage and thereafter said load and carriage are pulled along saidtrack into said building.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the spring means comprises anelastic band connected to the carriage and to the beam.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein said front end of the beam has adirection-changing pulley over which the elastic band passes, said bandextending along the beam for its full length so as to have a maximumeffective length and a soft action with maximum overall extensioncapacity.

4. The combination of claim 1, there being a lock means within saidbuilding in the region of said track, means for engaging said lock meanswith said carriage when the latter has been pulled by said pull elementinto a position in the region of said lock means, said lock means beingoperative to lock said carriage against return movement along said trackwhile said load is being lowered toward said floor by slacking said pullelement.

5. The combination of claim 4, wherein said lock means comprises a latchformed with means automatically tripping the same into locking relationwith said carriage upon engagement of said carriage therewith.

6. The combination of claim 4, wherein said lock means includes meansfor manually releasing the same from said carriage to permit returnmovement of the same toward said front end of said beam.

7. The combination of claim 1, wherein said beam is constituted ofmolded plastic material, said beam comprising spaced and opposed flangesconnected by a web, said web being formed with a slot therethroughextending longitudinally thereof from the region of said front end ofsaid beam to the region of the rear end thereof, and said web and slotcomprising said track.

8. The combination of claim 1, there-being a lock means carried by saidtrack within said building in spaced relation to said walls thereof,said lock means including a movable lat-ch including a cam surfaceengageable with said carriage upon movement of the same into saidbuilding and being operative to cause automatic engagement of said latchwith said carriage to prevent return movement of the same toward saidfront end of said beam 15 10 of the same while said load is loweredtoward said floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,762,459 Wolf June 10, 1930

1. IN COMBINATION, A TOY FARM BUILDING INCLUDING A FLOOR, A ROOF ANDOPPOSITE WALLS; A MECHANIZED COMBINED LIFT AND CARRIER CONNECTED WITHSAID BUILDING, COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL SUPPORTING BEAMCARRIED BY SAID BUILDING BETWEEN SAID ROOF AND FLOOR, A FIRST OF SAIDWALLS BEING FORMED WITH AN OPENING THERETHROUGH, SAID BEAM HAVING AFRONT END PROJECTING THROUGH SAID OPENING OUTWARDLY OF SAID BUILDING;SAID BEAM BEING FORMED WITH A TRACK, A CARRIAGE MOVABLE ALONG SAIDTRACK; SPRING MEANS OPERATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH SAID BEAM AND CARRIAGEFOR YEILDABLY RETAINING SAID CARRIAGE OUTWARDLY OF SAID BUILDING IN THEREGION OF SAID FRONT END OF SAID BEAM, SAID SPRING MEANS PERMITTINGREARWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID CARRIAGE ALONG SAID BEAM INTO SAID BUILDINGAGAINST THE ACTION OF SAID SPRING MEANS THROUGHOUT SUBSTANTIALLY THEENTIRE LENGTH OF SAID BEAM, SAID BEAM HAVING A REAR END SECURED TO THEOTHER WALL OF SAID BUILDING; A PULL ELEMENT EXTENDING ALONG SAID BEAM TOSAID CARRIAGE FROM THE REGION OF SAID REAR END OF SAID BEAM, MEANS ONSAID CARRIAGE SLIDABLY ENGAGING SAID PULL ELEMENT AND DIRECTING THE SAMEDOWNWARDLY, SAID PULL ELEMENT HAVING A LOWER END ADAPTED TO BEOPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO A LOAD, SAID PULL ELEMENT HAVING AN OPPOSITEEND DISPOSED IN THE REGION OF SAID FLOOR AND SAID OTHER WALL, MEANS FORRETRACTING SAID PULL ELEMENT, SAID OPPOSITE END OF SAID PULL ELEMENTBEING OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID LAST NAMED MEANS FOR BEING RETRACTEDTHEREBY WHEREBY SAID LOAD IS FIRST HOISTED INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAIDCARRIAGE AND THEREAFTER SAID LOAD AND CARRIAGE ARE PULLED ALONG SAIDTRACK INTO SAID BUILDING.